Erya is a literary work of lexicography, which was first included in the History of Han Dynasty, but the author's name was not included. Rich ancient Chinese vocabulary is collected in the works. It is not only the ancestor of dictionaries, but also an ancient book listed in the Thirteen Classics, which is the core component of traditional Chinese culture.
"Er" means "near" and "elegance" means "positive". This refers to "Yayan", that is, the standard language that conforms to the norms in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. "Erya" means approaching and conforming to elegant words, that is, using elegant words to explain ancient Chinese words and dialect words and make them close to norms.
Historical orientation
In history, Erya is highly respected because it summarizes and explains the ancient meanings of many ancient words in pre-Qin ancient books and has become an important reference book for Confucian scholars to read and understand classics. Learning Erya can help you "learn more about birds, animals, plants, insects and fish" and increase all kinds of knowledge.
Erya was regarded as a Confucian classic in the Han Dynasty. When Tang Wenzong carved the Classic of Stone as an adult, he was included in the Classic Department. It was listed as one of the thirteen classics in Song Dynasty. In fact, Er Ya is not a classic, nor is it a vassal of a classic. This is an independent dictionary. With the help of this dictionary, people can read ancient books and study ancient vocabulary. You can learn about ancient society and increase all kinds of knowledge.
Reference to the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-"Erya"